Judge and Jury
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: A teen aged Tony brings about his own trial by fire from his father when he misleads him. This is part of my Fate series.
1. Presumption of Innocence

Presumption of Innocence

The creak of the heavy wooden front door as it opened and closed from the floor above him caused Jethro Gibbs to pause in his work. He set down the sandpaper and stretched, then grabbed his empty coffee cup and jogged up the basement stairs.

In the kitchen he came face to face with Tobias Fornell, who appeared to be speaking softly to his teen son, Tony.

Surprised, Jethro raised his eyebrows, "Tobias, what brings you here? Did we have a work appointment?" He grinned at that idea, since most of their professional time he and Fornell pretended annoyance with each other while in public.

Before his friend could answer, Gibbs addressed Tony, who abruptly looked down at the kitchen linoleum rather than meet his father's gaze.

"I thought you would not get home until after supper. You surprised me this early, Son."

No one responded, and sensing that something had transpired between the two, Gibbs slowly poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, biding his time until an explanation followed.

He rummaged in a kitchen cabinet, then held an empty cup out to Fornell, but the agent shook his head and declined any coffee for himself.

Sipping a small swallow from his own cup, Jethro scrutinized his son's uncomfortable expression as he waited.

Raising his eyebrows as a signal to his friend, Tobias finally reached over and patted Tony on the back. "Your boy has a couple of things he wants to share with you, Jethro."

Tony cut his eyes at that promise and scowled, then crossed his arms across his chest and focused upon the floor again.

Gibbs recognized that stubborn look. Tony had no intention of volunteering a single snippet of information.

Cutting to the chase, Fornell regarded the teen and supplied, "I have to take off now, but I want to share why I decided I would bring him home this evening. Your son and his friends had the misfortune of attending a college party right next door to where the FBI showed up to question another student. I recognized Mr. Grown, here, saw the kegs of beer, and figured you knew nothing about it. Just so you know, I dropped his buddy, Dylan, off before we got here, and also spoke with his folks."

Tony squirmed and glanced uneasily at his father from the corner of his eye.

Gibbs rubbed the bridge of his nose and then pointed to the stairs. He ordered sharply, "Up to your room right now-"

Glancing mutinously at Fornell, Tony nevertheless obeyed. Waiting until his slight figure disappeared past the landing, Gibbs walked his friend to the door.

Fornell placed a steadying hand on Jethro's shoulder. "Remember that we were his age once, Jethro."

"I know that, Tobias," Gibbs admitted, a small smile on his lips. "which gives me some insight to where his fourteen year old mind was fixated. Thanks for escorting him home."

"No problem," came the reply, "he knew he was busted the second he recognized me. To give him credit, though, when I called him over he came at once and then gathered his things when told. If it is any consolation, I already terrorized the collegiate party hosts by telling them I could book them for serving alcohol to minors, even though that did not occur. I wanted to scare them about having alcohol near minors, even if Tony and his pal did not sample any."

"What kind of college party begins at dinner time?" Jethro pondered.

"The kind that serves alcoholic beverages," supplied his friend.

Nodding in agreement, Gibbs walked Fornell down the walkway, watched him back his car out of the drive, then gathered his thoughts before he headed upstairs to deal with his son.

Tony sat at his desk, his arms crossed on the desktop and his chin propped on his arms, making him appear far more like a child than like a teen. Still small for his age, he had yet to experience a significant growth spurt, though the pediatrician had assured Gibbs that Tony's adult height would reach six feet at least.

Strangers habitually glanced twice at him. With shimmery green eyes, and brown hair laced generously with blond, the boy turned heads wherever he went.

Just observing that childlike posture his father could predict the path of the teen's upcoming defense.

Gibbs leaned against the doorframe and spoke brusquely. "Look at me, Son. I want your full attention right now."

Tony did, straightening his back and wiping his hands on the legs of his jeans. Evidently he had failed to think up a plausible excuse while exiled to his bedroom the past few minutes and had spent his time deciding to jump on the offense.

He licked his lips and met his father's narrowed gaze.

"Start talking," the father ordered. "Make sure you tell me the truth when you do, however, or you will find yourself in worse trouble than you already are."

Instead of answering, the child bit the side of his lip and looked down at his sneakers, vainly attempting to think up something credible. It would be in his best interests to make his first words soften his dad's wrath.

"I told you to look at me," Jethro reminded him, his voice firm. He waited until Tony complied before he proceeded. "Now I gave you permission to go with Dylan and his mom to the mall after school today, and expected she would bring you home sometime after supper. Apparently, somewhere along the way the plans changed, with you in a place at which you did not have permission, and leaving me totally in the dark about your whereabouts."

Tony looked decidedly uncomfortable, but did not speak. Instead, his bottom lip began to quiver.

Out of patience, Gibbs crossed the room, yanked his son to a standing position, and landed a sharp smack onto his rear end.

Tony sucked in a breath, and automatically moved a hand back to protect his bottom from further contact with his dad's hand.

"My tolerance dwindles by the second, Son. You are seconds away from finding yourself on the receiving end of a real spanking if you continue to disobey. Answer me and start explaining!"

"Ok, Dad, ok," the boy answered, relief washing over him when his father turned him loose. That he had brought his father's fury on his head before he even attempted to talk his way out of his current trouble did not bode well, and he knew it.

Rubbing his bottom, he hurriedly resumed his seat and turned a cooperative expression in his father's direction.

"Well, I know that you said I could go with Dylan, and Dylan and I decided to visit a friend of ours who went to our school last year, only he's older." Tony took a breath before adding detail and tried to gauge his dad's reaction to that clarification.

Gibbs kept his expression neutral and sat down on the end of the bed. "What's the kid's name?"

"Pardon?"

"Tony, let me share some advice with you one more time. If you continue to stall and waste my time, I am going to use that waste of time, effectively, to blister your bottom. Then I still plan to get an explanation from you over this afternoon's activities."

"Ok, Dad, ok- you do not need to spank me." Tony fiddled with the button on his green oxford shirt cuff.

"Tony!"

The teen rushed to supply an elaboration. "So Dylan and I went to see Eric, and Eric said we should all go visit his brother, who has an apartment really near the college. Then when we got there it turned out that Eric's brother and his roommates planned a party this evening. So lots of people had showed already, and someone may have brought some beer and alcohol, but really, Dad, I barely even noticed that. I swear to you I did not drink any at all. I know what you have taught me about that, about all the health risks, and that I am not old enough to legally make that decision. Then we kind of drifted out on the balcony to just hang and talk and then Agent Fornell looked up from that other guy's balcony and recognized me."

Having put his own strategic spin on the event, Tony licked his lips and turned a hopeful expression towards his dad.

Reaching over, Jethro tapped Tony under the chin, marveling to himself that from babyhood his son had employed that exact look to try to avoid trouble. "Do you have any more to say, or anything to clarify?"

Tony appeared to consider the query, changing his expression to one of thoughtful contemplation. "Do you mean about earlier today, Dad?"

"Exactly," Gibbs responded, leaning forward, his arms resting on his legs.

"No sir, I think I told you everything I can recall from that little misunderstanding," came the hopeful assurance.

Arching his brows, Gibbs awarded him another opportunity to modify his account. "So, then if I go phone Dylan's parents right now, this story will match the one that he has told them about today and what happened to the two of you after school?"

Tony blanched, and that involuntary reaction signaled to his father all that he needed to know.


	2. Presumption of Guilt

Presumption of Guilt

Jethro did not bother to wait for a reply. His voice began to rise as pictures of his barely teen child at a college beer party flooded his imagination as he lectured. "Son, you asked me a few months ago to start allowing you more freedom, and you assured me that you would show me responsibility from you, in return. Do you remember that promise?"

Hurrying to defend himself, Tony sputtered, "Dad, I did show maturity- I mean I have showed you that a bunch of times since then."

"All right, when did you show that today?" Gibbs moved towards the door and Tony watched him warily.

"Well, maybe today I…."

"No, Tony, today you have lied to me, you have gone to someone's apartment without my knowledge or permission, you got yourself involved with alcohol-"

Indignant, the teen interrupted loudly, his tone wounded, "Dad! I did not touch that beer, I promise! You can smell my breath!"

Hurriedly, he slid from his chair, crossed the room, and grabbed his father's arm. "Dad, just listen-"

In reply, Jethro's voice rose even higher, and he spoke sharply, "Do not say another word until I say that you may do so, am I clear?"

In reply, Tony felt his stomach knot. His dad was about to lower the boom, and he had failed to say anything to soften the response. He nodded, and feeling tears threaten, rubbed in frustration at his eyes.

Jethro continued, his outrage evident. "You lied to me, Son. That, alone, tips the scale at behavior I never tolerate from you, that I will never have any intention of tolerating from you. To compound it, though, you made a conscious decision to go to an apartment with college students, an apartment where there was alcohol, knowing all too well that you are fourteen years old and had no business there."

As his father's voice escalated and intensified, the child's tears began. They started to spill slowly as the impact of the evening's damage resonated with him.

Jethro ignored them, though, determined that Tony have no doubt that he had erred in the worst possible way.

He could not afford to feel sorry for the boy. Tony had jeopardized his own safety.

"You are a child, and nowhere near an adult! You are far from being an adult or thinking as an adult. Despite what you have managed to convince yourself about the activities appropriate for a teen, I am here to assure you that you do not deserve them and that you will no longer enjoy any."

Tony could not help but blurt out a plea at that pronouncement, trying to ward off upcoming penalties. "Dad, I am sorry! Really, I should not have gone there, or lied to you, but…"

Gibbs did not allow him to continue.

"No, you should not have made a single choice of those you made from the time you told me you would be joining Dylan and his mom and you knew it was not the truth. You set out to deceive me- you deliberately manipulated my trust in you."

Tony bit the side of his lip and nodded, knowing he could not deny such obvious facts. Though he had no idea what to say to make his father less angry, he tried anyway. "No, sir, no, it was really not like that."

"Is that so?" Jethro raised his eyebrows. "What was it like then, Tony? Just what was it like? Tell me."

Shaking his head, Tony realized that any attempt to exonerate himself would prove futile. He had done something he should not have done, and gone somewhere he had no business going. He had been caught.

Biting the side of his lip, he focused upon the floor instead of offering a verbal response.

Jethro regarded him several seconds, then ordered decisively, "Look at me right now, Anthony."

Tony did, inwardly cringing at the use of his whole name. Years of experience told him something unpleasant lurked upon his personal horizon.

He guessed correctly.

"No more interaction with friends, no more social entertainment, and no more going anywhere other than school or home, Tony. You are grounded from anything outside of here and that high school. Am I clear?"

"Dad, please," the child began, the enormity of that punishment washing over him. At fourteen, those future weeks were all too critical in his perspective. "Dad, remember that the dance is next week and you already said I could go, and the field trip to the battleground is Thursday and you said I could go to that, too. You already gave me permission, Dad! You told me okay."

Not bothering to even acknowledge the plea, Gibbs repeated, "Am I clear- no anything outside of school or home?"

"Ok, ok!" Tony's face took on a scowl and his mood switched to anger at his father's heavy handed punishment.

"Good, because as your judge and jury, I promise that you will find yourself even more miserable if I have to address any part of this conversation again. Now, go take your shower and get ready for bed. Your bedtime arrives early tonight." Gibbs turned and started out into the hall, signaling the conclusion of the conversation.

"Dad," Tony called after him, then hurried to his father to ask, "Dad, how long are you grounding me?"

"Six weeks with no friends, no entertainment, and no going anywhere other than school or home," Jethro responded immediately, and as Tony's face crumpled, he added, "No, you brought this situation on by yourself, Son. Furthermore, after six weeks I am only allotting you those privileges you had in middle school. Any other perks you have enjoyed lately and would like returned will have to be earned, one at a time."

Tony exhaled loudly, visibly upset at his father's decision. "Dad-"

"I intend to keep you on a very short leash until you demonstrate far more maturity than you showed today."

That last pronouncement proved the child's undoing, and instantly copious tears began to flow.

Gibbs pulled his son to him, and Tony buried his head in his father's chest. Jethro wrapped his arms around the teen, reminded that no matter what his son tried to convey, he still was very much a little boy.

He held him.

When the tears finally slowed Jethro kissed the top of the bowed head and pushed the boy away from him. Tilting up Tony's chin, he spoke, "Son, I love you very, very much, but I want you to understand that any time you choose to act so irresponsibly and so dishonestly, I will make the aftermath very unpleasant for you. You do not get to put yourself in danger, and you know better than to not tell me the truth. Have I made myself clear?"

Using both palms, he wiped away the remains of the tears under Tony's eyes.

Tony whispered miserably, "I understand, Dad, and I want you to know that I really am sorry, very sorry. I promise."

"I do not doubt that for a moment. However, from this point forward I will need more than words from you."

"I know, Dad. I know," Tony nodded his understanding.

"Now, get ready for bed, and I will come back and tell you goodnight in a little while."

With another kiss to the top of his son's head, Jethro left, and Tony watched him descend the steps before throwing himself face down on his bed. He could not believe how much damage he had created today, when all he and Dylan had set out to engineer was sneaking off to a party.

It had all backfired.

Changing positions to lie miserably on his side he regarded the bedside clock and wearily slid off of the comforter. He could not afford to add to his father's already present anger by not getting ready for bed when told to do so.

Judge and jury indeed- his father was more like judge, jury, and warden!


End file.
